nation / world
Three Minor Quakes in 24
Hours Rattle Israel
Two earthquakes shook Israel on Feb.

8, measuring 3.3 and 3.9 on the Richter
scale, respectively, JNS.org reported.

The fi rst was in central Israel, and the
second was in Lebanon but felt across
A view of the Old City of Jerusalem
the Golan Heights.

on Dec. 17, 2019
The temblors followed a 3.5 magni-
tude quake overnight on Feb. 7 centered 9 miles southeast of Ariel, which was
felt in Jerusalem and surrounding areas.

There were no reports of injuries or damage, aside from limited cracks in the
walls of residential apartments.

The three quakes, occurring within 24 hours, come on the backdrop of the devas-
tating earthquakes that have killed more than 35,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

The Knesset Internal Aff airs and Environment Committee earlier in the week
called for an emergency meeting to review the country’s earthquake prepared-
ness in light of the devastation in Turkey and Syria. Concurrently, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed National Security Council head Tzachi
Hanegbi to “update and reiterate the steps we need to take.”
Barcelona Mayor Severs Ties With Twin City of Tel Aviv, Citing
Israeli ‘Apartheid’
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau announced that the city is no longer twinned with
Tel Aviv, citing claims that Israel is guilty of “apartheid,” as well as “fl agrant and
systematic violation of human rights.,” JTA.org reported.

Barcelona and Tel Aviv entered the relationship in 1998 — when both cities
jointly signed a “twin city” agreement with Gaza City. Colau’s decision comes
less than a year after Barcelona launched two linked campaigns — “Shalom
Barcelona” and “Barcelona Connects Israel” to appeal to Jewish and Israeli
tourists interested in exploring their heritage. Last summer, the city opened up
the world’s fi rst Michelin-starred kosher restaurant.

“More than 100 organizations and over 4,000 citizens have demanded that
we defend the human rights of Palestinians and for this reason, as mayor, I have
written to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to inform him that I have
suspended temporarily the institutional relationship between Barcelona and Tel
Aviv,” said Colau, who has been Barcelona’s mayor since 2015, on Feb. 8.

The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Spain condemned the decision,
which it called “sophisticated antisemitism.”
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Photo by Moshe Shai/Flash90 via JNS.org
Bill to Criminalize Egalitarian Prayer, Immodest Dress at Western
Wall Is Shelved
A proposed Israeli law that would sharply curtail the rights of women and non-
Orthodox Jews at the Western Wall sparked alarm on Feb. 9, leading Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pledge that regulations at the holy site
would “remain exactly the same” as they are now, JTA.org reported.

The bill was submitted by a lawmaker from Shas, the Sephardi haredi Orthodox
party that is a member of Netanyahu’s governing coalition. It would have criminal-
ized mixed-gender prayer at the site, as well as immodest dress and the playing
of musical instruments.

Women would be forbidden from reading from a Torah scroll or blowing a
shofar at the site. Women would not be allowed to don prayer shawls or tefi llin,
the leather boxes and straps traditionally worn by Jews during morning prayers
and historically worn only by men.

The bill’s provisions also would have applied to the Wall’s non-Orthodox
section, adjacent to the main plaza. Off enders would have faced a fi ne of approx-
imately $3,000 or six months in prison. ■
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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